Table-leaf support



(No Model.)

D. D. BROGKWAY.

TABLE LEAF SUPPORT.

No. 249,888. Patented Nov. 22,1881.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL D. BROOKWAY, OF HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN.

TABLE-LEAF SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,888, dated November 22, 1881.

Application filed August 15, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL D; BROCKWAY, of Houghton, in the county of Keweenaw and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Table-Leaf Supports, of which the following is a specification.

Figure l is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the end of the supporting-brace, and Fig-3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the brace.

This invention has for its objectto provide a simple and efficient support for the hinged leaves of a table; and the invention consists in a novel construction and combination,which will be fully described in detail, and then pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, the letter T indicates a portion ofa table of which L is one of the leaves, the outer edge thereof being broken away.

A is a bracket secured firmly to the frame of the table.

0 is a brace, made of wood or metal, pivoted at B to bracket A. Brave (J is enlarged toward its outer end, so as to form a shoulder thereon at H. g

G is a stud firmly secured to the under side of leaf L.

K is a loop or ring, of metal, secured to the under side of leaf L in such a manner that, while firmly fastened to leaf L, it is still free to swing in the direction of the widthof leaf L. Agood way to secure loop K is to pass the plate which carries stud G through said loop before said plate is fastened to said leaf, first cutting a groove in said leaf to receive said loop, so that the loop may swing freely, but cannot move along said plate. Loop K is large enough to pass freely over the smaller portion of brace C, but is too small to allow the larger portion of said brace or shoulder H to pass through it, and is fastened to leaf L at a point farther from the frame of table T than is the shoulder H on brace 0 when said leafaud'brace are raised.

Eis a thumb piece or lever, of the shape shown in Fig. 2, pivoted near the outer end of brace O on pin 1). The outer end of brace O is forked to receive the small end of lever E. The outer portion of the brace C is cut away near the end, so as to make a projection, F, to bear against stud G. The length of brace 0 should be such that when leaf L is lowered the end of thumb piece or lever E will just reach to the outer edge of the leaf. When leaf L is raised loop K will raise brace O, and, as leaf L and brace 0 do not turn on the'same center, loop K will be drawn toward the outer end of brace C until it meets shoulder H and cannot move farther toward the end of brace 0. As leafL continues to rise a strain will be brought upon the ends of loop K in two directions, the leaf tending to draw its upper end away from the frame of tableT in the are of a circle, while brace 0 tends to draw its lower end toward the table. The result of these two forces is to cause loop K to draw the outer end of brace 0 against the lower side of leaf L and cause projection F, or the end of brace G, to engage with stud G, and thus hold leaf L firmly in a raised position. When leaf L is to be lowered an upward pressure on the outer end of thumb piece or lever E causes that portion of said lever which is within the end of brace O to rise above the upper surface of brace O and strike against the under side of stud G, and by continuing the pressure on lever E the outer end of brace O is forced downward until projection F or the outer end of brace O is no longer in contact with stud G, when leaf L can be easily lowered. If leaf L be long, two braces can be applied to it, one near each end; if short, one will be sufficient.

It will be obvious that bracket A, loop K, and stud G should bein the same vertical plane.

Heretot'ore a table-leaf support has been composed of a shouldered keeper secured to the under side of the leaf and provided with a spring-loop which bears upon the free end of a brace hinged to the table-frame, all in such manner that when the leaf is elevated to a hori- 'zontal position the spring-loop will operate to engage the free end of the hinged brace with the shoulder on the said keeper. Such construction and arrangement, not being my invention, is therefore disclaimed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with a table and its leaf, the bracket A, brace 0, having shoulder H, stud G, loop K, and lever E, pivoted to brace G, all constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described.

DANIEL D. BROCKWAY.

Witnesses:

J OSEPH B. BRAMAN, WILLIAM H. DIEHL. 

